In Which Hermione Finds Flying Can Be Fun
by Adnap Nottap
Summary: This is a repost of the story under the same name....it was bad before. Hermione fights with Ron...she does something dumb and Ron helps her...It's cute. Please read!!
1. In Which Hermione Finds Flying Can Be Fu...

Disclaimer: Well duh! I own nothing! If anyone thinks that I am taking possession of these characters, well, they are crazy!! I am no JKR….

A/N: Hey all! This is a re-post of the fiction that used to have the same name. I had reread it and thought, 'Did I write this?!' It was terrible! Anyway, I hope you all like the new posting of it! Please review! If you had already read it before…read it again, it's much better now! Thanks!

Rating: G

Summary: Ron and Herm get into a fight, again, and Hermione leaves to clear her head. She gets into a bad situation and Ron has to help her out of it. Then he teaches her how to fly on a broom. And someone unexpected finds them and startles them pretty badly.

Setting: Sixth year, boring day during Christmas break.

Paring(s): R/Hr and a mention of H/G

Characters: Harry, Ron, & Hermione.

Chapter 1

In Which Hermione Finds That Flying Really Isn't That Bad 

"Check!" Ron shouted victoriously as Harry looked at the board for a space where his king could be safe. Hermione watched on with mild curiosity. It got boring day after day to watch what seemed like the same game over and over. Harry tried valiantly of course but he still seemed to lose quite a lot. With out meaning for it to, Hermione's nagging instinct kicked in.

"Shouldn't you two be working on your Potion's assignment?" She asked, crossing her arms and looking distastefully at the chessboard.

"We will, we will." Ron said in an annoyed voice, clearly not hearing a word Hermione was uttering. "Go on Harry, make a move!" Harry looked intently on the board, though he knew that Ron should have been paying more attention to Hermione. She hated to be ignored.

"You'll wait until the last day of break to even _start_ on it!" She pestered Ron again, her voice rising just a bit. "Are you even listening?"

"Yes, yes, whatever Hermione." Ron mumbled. Harry tried very hard not to slap Ron in the head. He knew what would happen any second. He'd seen it too many times through out the six years he knew Hermione and Ron, not to know what was coming.

"Don't expect me to help you then!" Hermione exclaimed in a huffy voice.

"Oh I don't need your help anyway. Move Harry!"

"Fine! Don't accept my help. You could at least be doing something constructive like practicing Quidditch. Heaven know are team needs more help!" 

"Are you implying that our team is not good at Quidditch?" Ron shouted back at her. The chess game had been forgotten and Ron stood up to face Hermione who was sitting on a couch nearby curled up with the huge potions book. She was trying very hard not to pay attention to Ron. Harry leaned back in his chair. Why did this always have to happen?

"Oh I didn't mean it like that! You know I didn't." Hermione said quickly.

"Sure. You think our team is horrid at Quidditch! I'm sure it's my entire fault then. I am the _captain_ after all. So does that mean I'm bad at Quidditch too Hermione?!" He yelled, his anger rising to a dangerous level.

"I never said anyth-" Hermione began but Ron cut her off.

"No! Don't say anything Hermione! You can't take back what you said! Forget it!" Ron shouted. 

"Fine! I'm leaving. You're being ridiculous! I can't concentrate in this infernal common room! Goodbye Harry!"

"Fine! Go then! We don't care!" Ron yelled at her retreating back. Harry sat, stunned. His mind was no longer on chess but on how much of an idiot his best friend could be sometimes. Ron really couldn't see it could he? He really couldn't see how much it hurt Hermione to fight with him. 

After a few minutes Ron, who had been standing up facing the entrance to the common room, turned around and sighed as he returned to the chess game. "What is wrong with us? Why can't we just talk like normal people with out wanting to kill each other?" He complained flopping into the big puffy chair.

"Uh, this has been happening for six years and you're asking me?" Harry laughed at his friend's expression. "I really don't know. It is _your_ problem after all. You two are going to have to figure it out by yourselves. Maybe you shouldn't go off on her like that all the time." Harry ended carefully for he knew that Ron wouldn't be very pleased with that comment.

Ron looked up stunned at Harry. "Me?! Go off on _her_? Were you even here two seconds ago? She was the one who started this whole thing!" Ron shouted. 

"I _was_ here two seconds ago. I know that she got mad at you but she always does. Sometimes you just make small things into big deals when they really don't need to be. I don't know why you took it like that anyway. She wasn't saying that you were bad at Quidditch. She's just saying that our team hasn't been as good as it usually is, which has nothing to do with the fact that you are captain. It just means that we have to try harder and that is exactly what she was trying to get at. Now about the homework…she's always complaining about you not doing it. If you didn't make such a big deal about it-"

"If _I_ didn't make such a big deal? Well, I see whose side you are taking Harry!"

"Ron, that isn't fair."

"Oh really? I'm leaving." Ron said, getting out of the chair again.

"You know I didn't mean it like that! You have to calm down about things." 

"Calm down? She said I was horrible at Quidditch Harry." Ron told him, a little depressed. His shoulders rose and fell as he sighed. 

"I'm sorry. Don't get mad at me over this. You just need to cool down for a while. Maybe the best thing for you to do would be to talk to her. You don't have to do it right now but you should do it sometime. I doubt that she meant to hurt your feelings. That doesn't sound like Hermione does it? She didn't mean to make you feel bad. She cares about you too much to do something like that."

"Fine. I'll talk to her, sometime. But I am not going to do it now." Ron concluded sternly. 

He sighed and left the common room. Thinking about even attempting to talk to her, just made him feel even angrier. He didn't know why he got annoyed at her so much. He didn't understand why he cared so much what she thought. Sure, she was his best friend but he shouldn't care what she thought about how he played Quidditch. She never enjoyed the game anyway. What did she know about how to play? 

This thought didn't make him feel any better. Of course, he didn't like fighting with Hermione and what she thought about how he played really didn't matter but it still hurt to think that she thought the team was doing badly. He supposed that it was ok that she thought the team was bad but why did she have to say anything about it? Why would she say that the team was bad right in front of the captain? She'd never said anything like that when Angelina was captain and it was probably a good thing she didn't dare say anything like that to Oliver. 

'Of course,' Ron thought bitterly, 'the team was better then. Oh why do I care what stupid Hermione things anyway!?!' As he thought this, the answer was already forming. Of course he cared, she was his friend. She shouldn't say anything like that to him. He really wished that she would stop having that effect on him.

The fact was, even though he hated it, he did care what she thought about him. It bugged him to the very core. Sure, he bickered with her about homework but didn't he always stay up really late to finish it? Ron doubted he would have done that if Hermione hadn't been there. She had a strange power over him that made him crazy. Sometimes she'd make him so angry that he never wanted to speak to her again, but other times he just wanted to wrap her up in a hug and keep her there forever. 

The thing he hated the most was when she cried. What was he supposed to do? He didn't know how to react around her. He always wanted to hold her very close when she cried but then again, she'd probably just push him away. He, after all, was the reason she cried most of the time.

Ron stormed through the halls, not knowing exactly where he was going, only knowing that he wanted to be as far away from Harry and Hermione as possible. He avoided the library for obvious reasons. He decided that the Quidditch field was the best place. Hermione would never be there. He made his way to the field, not even stopping when Neville said hello to him.

When he reached his destination, he looked around at the snow-covered ground and shivered. He was happy that he was wearing his Weasley sweater, even if it was ugly. He looked up at the sky and wondered why he didn't come out here more often; well, besides the fact that it was freezing of course. It was very peaceful, even if the temperature wasn't perfect. 

He scanned the goal posts, enjoying just looking and feeling the air that Quidditch was played in. He loved the game so much. He could spend all day out here in peace just feeling content about his surroundings. He looked up at the sky again and as his eyes floated over the fifty-foot goals, he thought he saw someone clinging onto one of them. Ron rubbed his eyes, making sure that he wasn't seeing things, and looked again. There _was_ someone up there.

"RON?" The figure shouted. It was Hermione. She shouted again as hard as she could but the wind was starting to blow harder and he couldn't catch her words. He was beginning to seriously think of leaving her up there until he realized what a horrible thing that would be.

"What am I doing? I can't leave her. What kind of friend would that make me?" He told himself sternly. He didn't understand how she had gotten there in the first place but he knew that if he did leave her, he would regret it for the rest of his life. "Oh why must I be so damn noble?" He huffed, heading for the broom shed.

"Hold on Hermione!" He shouted back up to her but she looked down at him and from what he could see, she couldn't hear him. He shook his head, mounted the broom, and kicked off. Being on a broom again lifted his spirits and he was very tempted to do a lap around the pitch but he reminded himself of the reason why he had gotten on the broom in the first place. 

It took barely two seconds for him to reach her. She looked more scared than he had ever seen her in his life and she must have been cold because her lips were blue. She was clinging onto the circular part of the goal and it seemed like she was holding on for dear life, which was probably true. Whatever broom she had used had disappeared and she had no way of getting down.

"What are you _doing_ Hermione?" He asked as he stopped the broom next to her, hovering fifty feet in the air.

She was shivering and she stuttered when she spoke, "I t-tried to fly up here to b-be alone b-but the broom got unsteady and I w-was f-f-flung onto t-the p-post." He sighed and edged the broom closer so she could get on.

"Come on. I'll take you back down." Ron replied. She looked down at the ground and clung tighter to the post. "Don't you know you're never supposed to look down Hermione? Please trust me. It will be fine. I'm not going to let you fall." He tried to tell her reassuringly.

"I-I am going to f-fall. It's t-too high. I-I'd rather s-stay up here f-forever!" 

"No, look," He reached out his arms for her, clutching the broom between his knees. "It will be fine, just grab my hands." She whimpered and did not move a single inch. He groaned, grabbed the broom again, and moved it even closer. There was hardly any room between them and he didn't understand how she could be scared. 

When she still did not move he gave up and grabbed one of her arms. She squeaked and Ron almost fell off the broom, he was still holding it between his knees, as a strong gust of wind hit them. She refused to let go of the post and didn't budge at all when he grabbed her arm, she only held on tighter. He was leaning dangerously off the broom and his temper wasn't doing to well at staying under control. For someone so smart she could be a complete idiot sometimes.

"Hermione! For Merlin's sake, will you let me help you? I won't let you fall!"

She laughed nervously. "I d-don't think you w-would c-care if I f-fell. Y-you'd probably b-be h-happy. I w-wouldn't n-n-nag you anymore about h-homework. W-wouldn't you b-be thrilled? No more Hermione t-to m-make your l-life b-boring and full of m-meaningless work." She was practically in tears from the pain of holding on so long and the terror of being up so high.

"Hermione! What are you talking about?! Are you crazy? Of course I would care if you fell but you aren't going to!" He pulled the broom back, regaining stability on it. "Please, just come here." She took one more suspicious glance at him before slowly reaching her arm out to him and grabbed his shoulder. He sighed, thankful that she trusted him, finally.

"Ok, now just put your other arm around and get on." Ron told her, trying not to get frustrated. She shuddered and reached out her other arm but a sudden blast of wind blew the broom farther away than she expected and she lost her balance. She was falling faster as she got closer to the ground. Thankfully, Ron acted quickly, aiming his broom handle downwards. He got underneath her before she hit the floor. He caught her in his lap and sighed thankfully. Her eyes were closed tight. She sat stiffly against him, pale and hardly breathing.

"Mione, open your eyes. I've got you. It's ok now." Ron told her. She opened her eyes slowly and when she saw that Ron did catch her, she threw her arms around him, sobbing in relief. He slowly brought them back to the ground where he replaced the broom with some difficulty as Hermione was still clinging to him. 

"Mione, you _can_ let go you know." He felt her nod on his chest and let go, though somewhat reluctantly. Still trembling with fear and cold Hermione began walking silently back to the castle, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. 

Ron groaned, "Here." He said, jogging forward and handing her his sweater. She looked at it curiously and took it, smiling slightly as she pulled it over her head.

"Thanks." She said. She wasn't trembling as much as before and Ron suspected she liked being on the ground better. She looked away and sighed.

"Ron-"

"Hermione-" They laughed a little. "You go first Hermione."

She stopped again to face him. "Thank you." She said, her eyes cast down at the floor. "I know you didn't have to help me. You should have just left me up there. I probably deserved it." 

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Hermione, stop that. You're crazy. You know I wouldn't have left you up there. No matter how annoying you may get, or how angry I become because of these stupid fights, you are still my friend." She smiled weakly at him and looked away.

"I shouldn't have said that the team was bad. We just haven't been having the best year and it's nothing to do with you being captain. You're the best Keeper we've had in a long time. I just wasn't thinking. You really are great at Quidditch. I should have known that it could be taken different ways."

"You wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. I know our team isn't the best. It actually isn't as easy to be the captain as I thought it was. We haven't-"

"Lost too many games yet and the whole team believes in you. I think you're doing a wonderful job." She told him truthfully. She looked at him and he smiled, his first real smile in a long time. He stepped closer and gave her a big hug.

"I guess I shouldn't have taken it so hard. I mean, if I hadn't yelled at you, you wouldn't have been out here in the first place." He said into her hair. They were still attached by the hug. She pulled away.

"It was my choice to come here and you know it." Hermione said stubbornly. "I probably would have come here and done this either way."

"Ok fine, but next time you get a great idea and you want to start flying all around, make sure to tell me so I can give you a proper lesson first!" 

She laughed nodded her head. "You've got a deal. Can you teach me tomorrow?"

"What? You want to learn already? I thought you hated flying. Why are you so interested now?" He asked, starting to walk back to the castle. 

"Oh I don't know. You and Harry have so much fun doing it. I never really got a chance to try. The flying lessons in first year weren't that great."

"Ok. Well, there is still time right now if you want to learn."

She bit her lip and looked around. "You don't have a sweater anymore. You'll be freezing cold."

"Oh forget that. Come on." He said, pulling her back to the broom shed. "You don't happen to have your wand do you?" He asked, walking inside the shed and finding that it was rather darker now. 

"No. I don't. I wish I had remembered it. I could have gotten down from that post by myself by calling a broom or-"

"Never mind Hermione, I know you could have done it. Now will you help me find the broom? I, uh, forgot where I put it." He took another step into the darkness and promptly stubbed his toe, saying a few badly chosen, colorful words to express what he thought about it.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. He mumbled something inaudible and groped around in the darkness for Hermione's hand. He found it and pulled her along slowly until he found the broom. It had mysteriously (A/N: Yep, it's a mystery to me too) gotten itself tucked into the farthest corner of the shed. Grabbing it, Ron turned around too quickly, right into Hermione.

"Ouch! Be careful Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, rubbing her head tenderly. 

"Sorry Hermione." He said quickly. Hermione found quickly that he was saying this onto the top of her head, making wisps of hair move around her face. He idly put the strands of hair behind her ear. He could hardly see her but in the very dim light, he thought she looked very pretty. Perhaps she looked prettier because he could see her better, she was only a few inches away from him after all. He felt a bit like an idiot, just standing there, looking at her, but he couldn't more. His heart started to pound in his chest and he was sure that she would be able to hear it. 

"Ron?" Hermione asked with a slight frown on her lips. Ron was suddenly aware of what was going on and he responded by blushing. At least it was dark. 

"Sorry," he said hoarsely. He cleared his throat nervously and edged toward the half-open door. When they got outside of the shed, they immediately let go of each other's hand and told themselves that they would forget the last two minutes as quickly as they could. 

Ron began to explain how to fly. "Now Hermione, flying is easy enough if you try. Do you want to go in front or in back?" He asked in a would-be-casual voice. She sat in front. "Ok, now, um, put your hands right here." He told her pointing to a certain spot on the broom.

"Here?" She asked, not knowing what she was doing at all and putting her hands in the wrong part of the broom. 

"Uh, no it's more like here." He told her, awkwardly pointing to a different spot than the one in which her hands were clenched onto the broom. She once again failed to get them in the correct positions so he leaned over, grabbed her arms, and placed them on correctly.

"That's better. Now kick off." She barely pushed against the ground and they flew up a half a foot in the air.

She laughed. "I guess I will have to push a little harder won't I?"

"You might want to angle the handle toward the sky too. Like this," He grabbed her hands again and pulled up. "Let me push off this time. My legs are longer." He pushed off and Hermione angled the broom like he showed her. She gasped as they flew five or six feet in the air.

"Now angle the broom down slightly to the ground so that we land." Being nervous, she pushed too hard and Ron just barely pulled it up fast enough to save them from smashing headlong into the dirt. Ron helped them land. 

"Try flying higher and we can try landing from there. It will give us more room to fix mistakes." She nodded and pushed off, hard enough this time, slanting the broom. They went thirty feet into the air and Ron helped her straighten out the broom.

"That was great!" He said enthusiastically. "Do you want to practice taking it down now?"

"Not really, I like it just like this, nice and flat. If it wasn't so high I would do this all the time." She looked down (A/N: You would think she would have learned her lesson the first time). She shuddered and leaned back against Ron instead, her breath unsteady.

"Don't worry. I _know_ you won't fall this time. I won't let you fall. You wouldn't have last time if that stupid wind hadn't come." She shuddered as she remembered falling and he wrapped his arms around her waist. She stiffened but then relaxed, feeling safer in that position. "So, you just want to sit here?" He asked with a smirk on his face, scolding himself internally for the small voice in the back of his mind that screamed 'Say yes'.

"Well, no. If I knew how to fly better, I would gladly move around more but I am afraid I will make us crash into the ground."

"I can show you. Isn't that why I'm here?"

"Yes."

"Good," he took his arms away from her waist and she frowned, sad for the break in connection between them. He placed them around her shoulders instead and she smiled again. "It isn't that hard to understand. If you want to go right, move the broom, very slightly, to the right." She tried it but she turned too hard and they went zooming quickly in that direction. 

Ron fixed it again saying, "That's ok, try to do it softer this time." She nodded and did what he told her to do. It worked this time and he smiled behind her.

"You really are doing great." He mentioned happily.

"Thanks." 

They continued to practice. After a while, it began to get dark and of course, Hermione was the first to notice. 

"We should probably go inside. It's getting late."

"Yeah it is. You're right. Do you want to try landing again?" She looked back at him uneasily.

"I'm not very good at that. I'm not sure I'm ready."

"Don't worry. I'll help you." He took his arms off her waist, where they had been for the past forty minutes, placed them around her shoulders, and grabbed the broom. "We can try this again later. You are doing great with everything else, it's just the landing that you aren't too keen at." He bent it slowly at the floor. It was when they were hovering two feet above the ground that they hear it.

"Weasley! Granger!" They fell of the broom onto the ground rather roughly and looked up, shock and embarrassment already showing on their faces, wondering which teacher caught them. They hoped dearly that it wasn't Professor Snape. 

Well, it wasn't Snape…it was someone much worse.

A/N: Hey all! I really hope that you liked that. The next chapter's very short! Like three hundred words or something but it's good, I promise!! Please click that little box where you review now!! Thanks! ~Adnap.


	2. In Which Ron and Hermione Get Very Embar...

A/N: This is so extremely short but I liked where I cut it so…too bad…just read it…Thanks!! I hope you all liked the first chapter and reviewed it!! Same rating, same characters, same everything so just enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Same disclaimer applies…I don't own anything!! It all belongs to J.K.R.

Summary: Hermione and Ron find out who caught them and get severely embarrassed.

Chapter 2

In Which Ron and Hermione Get Very Embarrassed

"Harry!" Ron and Hermione shouted at him. They're faces were a strange mixture of relief, shock, and embarrassment and the effect was greatly amusing Harry.

"Boy I got you two scared." He smirked at them as Ron got up and reached down to help Hermione. Harry looked from Ron, who was turning redder by the second, to Hermione, wearing Ron's way-too-big maroon sweater and smiled.

"That was not funny." Ron sighed angrily, his ears reddening swiftly.

"You two should have seen your faces." Harry said, shaking with laughter. "Was I interrupting something? You know, I can come back later and let you two finish."

"We were just, um, I was-"

"He was teaching me how to fly." Hermione said simply, walking ahead of them so they wouldn't see her blush. She got to the castle before them and didn't wait up. Ron jogged back to the broom shed, coming out sufficiently more quickly than he had the last time.

"That didn't look like the only thing that was going on." Harry laughed when Ron came back. And Ron swiftly punched him in the arm. "What were you really doing?"

"Just like she said. I was teaching her how to fly a broom. Then you came here and messed everything up. I was doing pretty fine. She probably thinks I'm a klutz now."

"Oh? What did I mess up? I mean, besides your 'perfect' landing. Were you planning on something else to happen?" Harry asked with interest.

Ron groaned, and ran a shaking hand through his hair. "Nothing. Never mind. Forget that I said anything about it."

"But you were planning for something else to happen?"

"No of course not Harry." Ron replied too quickly.

Harry smirked. "Does Ron fancy Hermione?" Harry asked in a whisper. "Hmmm….I think Ron might do just that." Ron's face burned as they walked back into the castle to get ready for dinner.

A/N: I know, I'm horrible…I made it soooo short but I apologized!! The next chapter is longer…it's the last one so if you haven't reviewed by the end of this one…please at least do one on the next!! Thanks!! Oh and tell me if you think Harry doesn't sound like Harry….Bye!!!


	3. In Which Hermione Finds That Patience is...

A/N: This is the last chapter. Hope you enjoy, just like enjoyed the other ones right?!?!

Disclaimer: I don't own it I wish I did, I'd be really famous and cool, so please don't sue me, I'd be really sad, and then I'd look like a big fool….Gosh that wasn't very good but you get the point. Unless you want to hear that again, don't sue me!!

Chapter 3

In Which Hermione Finds that Patience is a Virtue

They were all very quiet during dinner that night. Ron and Hermione were still embarrassed that Harry had seen them flying together. Both strongly stated that it didn't matter if he saw them though, because all they did was fly around. Ron was beginning to wonder why they were making it such a big deal. It _was_ only flying after all. It wasn't like anything else was going to happen. He shook his head to clear his thoughts away. Why was he even thinking about that? He wasn't even supposed to be entering into that chain of thought. It _was_ only Hermione. He looked across the dinner table at her but then quickly looked away again, sighing.

When they got back to the common room, Hermione announced that she was tired and was going to bed early, even thought it was just a few minutes after seven. They said goodnight. This was Harry's chance to interrogate Ron.

"So," He started, smiling at Ron. "You two must have been pretty mad at each other to get that close." He watched as Ron's ears changed colors.

"Shut-up Harry."

"Oh I won't make fun of you anymore, I promise."

"But…" Ron prompted, knowing Harry couldn't have really meant to stop there.

"How do you know there's a but?" Harry persisted. "Ok fine, _but_ there is no point in denying it. Your feelings are so obvious I wouldn't be surprised if she already knew."

"What!" Ron shouted, looking up at Harry. "You don't think she knows do y-" Ron stopped suddenly "You great prat! You knew I would say that didn't you?!"

"Well, I was right wasn't I?" Harry asked, giving his friend a knowing smile.

"Look I don't…" Ron's voice faded away. "Just don't say anything about it."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Harry said in a cheerful voice.

"I didn't know."

"How couldn't you? You two have been doing this for two years now. Everyone can tell you two like each other. They don't understand how you can't see it. I'm sure Fred and George have made some type of bet on it by now. I suppose you'll have to owl them when you two start dating. They'll want to collect their winnings."

"Oh shut-up Harry!" Ron said quickly, blushing furiously. Then he remembered the other thing he had wanted to ask. "Everyone else knows? Well then why didn't they tell me?! I could have used that little bit of information!"

"This just proves that you two don't talk enough. Ginny is always going off about how cute you two are together." Harry told him.

Ron stared at his hands in his lap and smiled. In an attempt to change the subject, Ron said, "So, you and Ginny, you're getting pretty close now?" He looked up to find his friend with a wide grin on his face and a pink tinge on his cheeks.

"You could say that." Harry replied mysteriously. 

Ron laughed. "All I have to say is, you had better be nice to her or I'll have to injure you and I wouldn't enjoy doing that. I think it might threaten our friendship a bit."

Harry kept his face straight for two whole seconds before he burst out laughing. He composed himself enough to say, "You're going to injure me? I'm sorry I have to miss seeing that."

 Ron laughed too. "Hey! I could injure you if I wanted to!" Harry just laughed. "So are you saying that you'll treat her right?"

"Don't get so serious Ron. It's not like were dating or anything. You sound like we're getting married! But yes. Of course, I'll 'treat her right'. How else would I treat Gin?"

"Gin? Hmm…I'll be watching you Harry." Ron replied suspiciously. They continued to laugh and talk for a while until Harry told Ron he was going to bed. 

"Don't stay up too long. You might want to take your dearest Hermione flying again tomorrow. Tell me next time so I can keep an eye on you two." Harry smirked and dodged a flying chess piece thrown by Ron. 

"Good night, and remember, I'm watching you Harry!" Ron said, unable to keep the humor out of his voice. Harry left for the dormitories. 

It was one o'clock. Ron knew that he was tired but he couldn't fall asleep. He didn't know when it happened. How come Hermione suddenly looked so pretty? Shouldn't she have looked pretty before? Maybe she was and he was just too much of an idiot to notice. He'd certainly noticed in the broom shed. His stomach twisted horribly. He was very happy she had said something. If she hadn't, he might have, well, he might have done something terrible like kissed her or something. That would have ruined everything. 

Ron groaned and pounded on his head with his fists. He had been thinking constantly about that day for the last two hours and he just couldn't get settled enough to sleep. Something was bothering him and he couldn't stop himself from wondering what it was. He groaned, wishing he could stop thinking about her.

He had a vague idea of what he thought it could be. He was thinking, maybe, it had something to do with the fact that Hermione probably didn't like him. Harry wasn't always right about everything. Harry could be wrong about this. Hermione always fought with him, or rather, he fought with her. Why in the world would she like him? How _could_ she like him? The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. The more depressed he felt, the more tired he became but he still couldn't fall asleep.

As he was drifting off to sleep on the couch in the common room, he heard a voice float down the stairs. "Hi Ron." It said. Ron groaned. Then he recognized the voice and he stayed still, pretending to be asleep. It was Hermione

"I know you're not asleep so stop faking!" She said, sitting next to him on the couch.

"Hello Hermione." He opened his eyes and looked at her.

She had a big smile on her face. "What are you _doing_ awake so late? You need your rest you know."

"I couldn't sleep."

She laughed. "Neither could I. Anything you want to talk about?" 

"Uh, actually," He started, but when it came time to continue speaking, he found that his voice was gone. "You see, uh,"

"Did you want to talk about today? I was kind of uh, wondering about a couple of things." Hermione started in a would-be-calm voice. Ron nodded. "Well, uh, you saved my life today. I know we fight a lot but…but thank you, for everything. I also wanted to, to say that, oh!" Hermione exclaimed. 

"What's wrong?" Ron asked quickly, wondering if again, he had done something wrong with out knowing it.

"Nothing's wrong. I'll be right back." She told him and hurried back up the stairs. Ron exhaled as if he hadn't been able to for the two minutes.

Soon she came back. She held something maroon in her hands and she was blushing. "I forgot to give you this back." She held out Ron's sweater to him.

"Keep it. I have three others just like it."

"Really?" She said in a cheerful, hopeful voice. She seemed to have wanted this forever.

"Yeah sure." He told her, laughing at her reaction. "It's just an old sweater. There really isn't anything special about it. I should ask my mom to make you one and give it to you on Christmas." 

She bit her lip and looked away, smiling like she'd just found out a way to read every book in the library in one night. "That would be great. So, are we going to have another flying session soon? I'm looking forward to it."

"Really? I guess we can have another one tomorrow if you want. I don't think you really need it. You were doing great." He told her in a low voice.

"I still need to work on those landings." She replied as if she didn't want there to be any chance that she wouldn't have to do another lesson. "It was really fun anyway. I didn't think I would enjoy flying a broom as much as I did, especially after falling from one today." Ron stayed silent. "You should go to sleep. You may be too tired to take me out tomorrow." She smiled at him.

'Too tired to take her out tomorrow.' He played the sentence through his head again. 'It's not like we're going on a date.' He shuddered at the thought. Hermione was looking at him with concern. He hadn't said anything for a while. 

Finally, he answered. "You're probably right. I'll walk you to your room if you want." She nodded and they walked silently up the stairs. 

"Well, goodnight." Ron told her awkwardly when they reached the sixth year dormitory.

"Goodnight." She replied. He thought she sounded a little disappointed but he pushed the though, forcefully, out of his head. 

'What are you thinking? Do you expect her to forget all of your faults just because of some stupid flying lesson?' His stomach lurched as he thought about how close they had been. He shook his head slightly and continued walking back to the boy's dormitory when Hermione stopped him. 

"Ron."

"Hmm?" He said, turning to look back at her.

"Can I do something?" She asked, taking a small step forward.

He laughed nervously and turned to face her. "Depends on what it is." He told her, though he was pretty sure he already knew.

She smiled. "You're so cute sometimes!" She told him, giving him a big hug. She moved away a bit so she could see him better, but looking at his eyes made her lose her nerve.

"Is that what you wanted to do?" He asked her, a little dissatisfied. "Maybe I should allow you to do whatever you want more often if you are going to say I'm cute." He beamed down at her.

"Oh, that wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. Though I wanted to do that too." She told him, in a disheartened voice.

Ron took a deep breath, steeling himself against the threat of rejection. He wasn't going to lose this chance. If he had ever wondered what the best time to (A/N: Well, you'll see in a second. I can't tell you. It would ruin it. But you probably already know anyhow.) 

"Then was this it?" He asked quickly, leaning down ever so slightly and kissing her lightly on the lips. He pulled back, training his eyes on the ground, letting his arms drop from her waist, and biting his lip until it was very red. Still, she didn't say anything and he was afraid that she was angry with him. Maybe he was wrong. He felt himself grow red and he suddenly didn't want to be there anymore.

"Ron,"

"Yeah?" He asked. His hands, unnoticeably to him, were twirling around nervously and he looked away from Hermione so that she wouldn't see him blush deeper still.

"Will you look at me for a second?" Her tone was still soft and he looked at her face and if possible, grew even redder. She smiled and shivers went up his spine. 

"That's better. Now, I have a question." He nodded slightly and he looked as if he was going to be sick. She smiled again and she was sure that he turned pale. "Why did you do that? Truthfully." Her tone wasn't unkind but he was too nervous to notice that.

"Was I wrong to-" 

"Answer my question first." She told him firmly.

"Hermione, you know you're killing me right?" He sighed. "Look, I-I guess, I thought that was what you were going to do. I mean, I was, really, uh really hoping that was it. I guess I shouldn't have done it. You see, the thing is Hermione, I-I really, really like you." He laughed bitterly. "Are you happy now?" She didn't give an answer. "Why else would I do it?" 

Hermione did something that distinctly sounded like a giggle but she quickly stopped when she realized what she was doing and she composed herself. She cleared her throat and said, "Thanks." 

"Thanks?" He asked, a little confused.

"I uh," She sucked up all her strength and mumbled quickly, "Iwashopingyouddothat." "What?" He asked, his forehead wrinkled in an undeniably cute expression. 

"I said, I…I said, I was hoping you'd do that."

Ron looked at her with an expressionless face. He didn't know how to react to that. Should he kiss her or just stand there or smile or say something? He tried to think of the most romantic thing that he could come up with but all that came out was, "Really?"

She cleared her throat nervously again and said with as much dignity as she could, "Yes. I've, I've been hoping that would happen since, erm, fourth year." She said, 'fourth year' in a whisper as if she were afraid that someone would hear her. Ron couldn't help but sigh with relief.

"So you er, like me too?" he asked, feeling that he must sound absurd and ridiculously childish.

Hermione placed her hand on his cheek and smiled brightly before standing as tall as she could and kissing him. Though not extremely long, this one lasted for more time than the one Ron had initiated. She broke away reluctantly.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Er, yes I think so but you know I might need reminding once and a while." He tried desperately to keep a straight face but it was hard when Hermione was rolling her eyes at him.

"I'll try to remember to do that for you Ron." She laughed at the expression that had come over his face, one of happiness but a different kind than Hermione had ever seen. All she knew was that whatever was making him smile in that way, was definitely worth keeping around.

They were silent until Ron said absentmindedly. "So Harry wasn't lying." 

"What are you talking about now Ron?" She asked, hoping that they hadn't been talking about her behind her back.

"Oh, well, I sort of told Harry that I uh, you know, liked you." He swallowed. "Anyway," He rushed on, seeing Hermione turning red, "he said that everyone had known that we liked each other for two years. It isn't a big deal. Never mind."

She smiled and, wrapping her arms tight around his neck, kissed him on the cheek. 

"It's true you know. I bet everyone did know before us. I wish they had let us into the big secret a bit sooner." 

"That's what I said! Like it would have been so hard to just tell us what was going on or at least give us hints because it hurts to think of what I've been missing for the past two years. If I could have known you would have let me do that two years ago…" He laughed in an embarrassed tone. "I mean, you know. I err, there's no point in wasting all my time fighting with you if I could have just gone out and kissed you instead."

She smiled. "I hate to say it but you're actually right this time Ron."

"Oh very funny. I know how much you hate to be wrong."

"Goodnight Ron."

"Before I say goodnight Mione, could I kiss you again?" He groaned as he blushed yet again. "You'd think I'd stop doing that after I'd kissed you but no. I have to keep turning a color close to a strawberry!"

"Don't worry, it's cute. I like it. I don't think you'd be Ron if you didn't blush sometimes!"

"Oh and uh, I just wanted to um, you know kiss you again because it's hard to believe this is happening and if I'm going to wake up soon I might as well enjoy myself while I'm asleep right?" 

Hermione shook her head and laughed. "You are so odd sometimes Ron but yes, why would I turn that down?"

"I don't know and truthfully, as long as you _don't_ turn it down, I don't care why." He cupped his hands on either side of Hermione's face and lifted up her chin, kissing her again. 

He pulled away, sighing slightly and said, "Well, we do have classes tomorrow so I'd better go unless I want you beating up on me about my schoolwork again. Goodnight Mione." He said, having a hard time keeping his voice to a whisper and his smile to a small grin. It was threatening to become a bright beaming, rather dopey looking smile, soon. He left for his dormitory very reluctantly; suddenly wishing he never had to go to sleep. 

When he got into his bed that night, he was scared out of his skin by Harry, who was sitting on his bed waiting for him. He decided that he needed to ask Ron about his late return.

"What took _you_ so long eh?" He asked.

"Nothing special." Ron lied quickly. Harry wasn't stupid and he knew that Ron's huge grin meant something. What were best friends for if they couldn't tell when you are lying?

"Sure…" Harry replied thickly. "You're a sly one you are." Harry said, hitting his friend playfully on the arm. 

"You can make fun of me just as long as I get to tease you about Gin. You're pretty sly yourself. Want to tell me about all those talks you have with her lately?"

"No comment. 'Night Ron." He said, getting back into his four-poster. 

"Just remember what I said before!" All Ron got for an answer were Neville's snores. "Fine don't answer me…I'm watching you Harry Potter." Ron fell asleep quickly, a wicked grin on his face and the image of his love floating through his mind.

A/N: Hey, hey!! Thanks for reading it! Now do you see that little box thing down there…right there at the bottom of the page? That long thin gray button…right, now is the time to click on that!! Yep…it will only take about two seconds and I know you have two seconds to spare so please, please, please review!! Thanks!! Oh, tell me if I should write anything else to go along with this….and if you have any other comments, feel free to e-mail me! Dadkap@msn.com! Bye now!! *whimpers* please no flames, I'm scared of those things!!!


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